granting of the present Contract for the Conveyance of the Mails from England to Halifax and Boston," &c.-Amendment, July 24. Milbank Prison-Order read-On the Question, "That the ... ... ... ... ... ... ... The Ayes and the Noes on Mr. T. Duncombe's Amendment to The Ayes and the Noes on Mr. J. E. Denison's Motion, "That it be an Instruction to the Committee on the Poor Removal Bill, that they have power to make provision for the Establishment The Ayes and the Noes on the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Amendment to the House going into Committee to take into consideration the Danish Claims The Not-Contents on the Duke of Buckingham's Amendment to The Ayes and the Noes on the Attorney General's Amendment to ... ... ... ... The Ayes and the Noes on Sir R. Inglis's Amendment to the Postponement of the Preamble of the Roman Catholic Relief Bill 935 The Ayes and the Noes on Sir W. Somerville's Amendment to the Second Reading of the Protection of Life (Ireland) Bill The Ayes and the Noes on Mr. S. O'Brien's Amendment to Mr. Hume's Motion for the Second Reading of the Charitable The Ayes and the Noes on Mr. Wodehouse's Amendment to HANSARD'S PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES, IN THE FIFTH SESSION OF THE FOURTEENTH PARLIAMENT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, APPOINTED TO MEET 11 NOVEMBER, 1841, AND FROM THENCE CONTINUED TILL 22 JANUARY, 1846, IN THE NINTH YEAR OF THE REIGN OF HER MAJESTY QUEEN VICTORIA. FIFTH VOLUME OF THE SESSION. HOUSE OF LORD'S, Thursday, June 4, 1846. MINUTES.] PUBLIC BILLS.-2 Customs Duties Bill; nuity (No. 2); Lord Gough's Annuity. PETITIONS PRESENTED. From Glasgow and Tamworth, Corn Laws.—From Guardians of the Buckingham Union, ritable Trusts Bill.—By Lord Campbell, from Dundee and of the Cuckfield Union, and from several other places, for the Better Observance of, and for the Prevention of the Sale of Intoxicating Liquors on, the Sabbath. From Isane Maydwell, of Islington, and Charles Cordingly, of Manchester, against the Corn Importation and Customs Duties Bills.-- From Essex and other places, against the Corn Laws-From Miss Jane Ashby, of Northiam, Sussex, complaining of Losses incurred by her from Conscientious Seruples in declining to be Sworn at the Lewes Assizes.By the Bishop of Lichfield, and Bishop of St. David's, from Wyly, and several other places, against the proposed Union of Saint Asaph and Bangor, but in favour of the Appointment of a Bishop to the See of Manchester. THE CANADIAN ADDRESS. L° Canada on the subject of the Commercial Policy of Her Majesty's Government; and a Copy of any recent Despatches from Lord. Cathcart, as well as of the Addresses from other bodies in Canada on the same subject. The EARL of DALHOUSIE trusted their Lordships would indulge him for a few moments in making a few remarks on a matter somewhat personal to himself. It would be in their Lordships' recollection that, during the discussion upon the second reading of the Corn Bill, on Thursday night last, in meeting the arguments which had been advanced by several noble Lords with reference to the bearing of that measure on colonial interests, he combated the fears entertained by those noble Lords, and controverted the arguments raised by them with respect to the sentiments entertained by the colonists themselves with reference to that measure; and he quoted an Address from the Assembly of Lower Canada, together with a portion of a despatch bearing on that Address; and he founded on that Address, the whole of which he read to their Lordships, the statement that the Government had no reason to believe that B the sentiments of the colonists were adverse | possible that he could have been aware, of to the views of Her Majesty's Ministers on its existence. He had applied to the prothe question. He was not about to commit per Office, and found the facts to be simply the irregularity of alluding to what had these. The steamer which brought the taken place out of the House; but if he despatches arrived at Liverpool after their should, by implication, allude to what was Lordships commenced their sitting at halfknown to their Lordships, he trusted, under past five o'clock on Thursday evening. the peculiar circumstances of the case, he The despatches were forwarded by the Post should not be called to order, or be held to Office, and arrived in London after their say anything which could be considered a Lordships closed their sitting at six o'clock breach of order, or offensive to any indivi- in the morning; and were sent to the Colodual. It was, he believed, well known to nial Office in the ordinary course of post, their Lordships, that on the following day at ten o'clock; and he was not aware of the a question was put publicly to the First existence of the Address, the despatch, or Minister of the Crown, which was intro- the mail, until his right hon. Friend the duced by the statement that a question was Vice President of the Board of Trade came about to be put which bore the appearance to him between five and six o'clock, to anof throwing by implication an imputation nounce to him that the question was to be on the character for fairness and truthful- put, and to ask if he was aware of the exness of a Member of the Cabinet, and that istence of the Address. He was aware it that Member of the Cabinet was the Earl was said that persons in town late that of Dalhousie. The question was then put, night were aware of the existence of it; whether at the time he (the Earl of Dal-but he could assure their Lordships in his housie) made that statement with respect to the Address from the House of Assembly, he was aware of the existence of another Address which had subsequently been forwarded to this country, and which had at that time arrived? Now, he confessed, and was not ashamed to confess, that he felt deeply wounded by such a question being put in connection with his name, because there was nothing in his past conduct, either in their Lordships' House or out of it, which could justify the imputation of unfairness or untruthfulness. He was aware that the question was coupled with the statement that an explanation had been given by him (the Earl of Dalhousie) in private, as at once showed that no such imputation was applicable to him; but he could not help feeling that that statement having gone out uncoupled with any statement by himself, or any contradiction on his part, must have left on the minds of many persons in the country an impression that it was not very clear whether he was aware of the existence of that Address or not. Now no one could for a moment suppose that it would have been worth his while on Thursday night to imply that no Address had been received from Canada, when, if he had known of its existence, he must also have known that it would be produced the next morning; and consequently that the fact of its omission would have been much more injurious to his case than if he never made any allusion at all to an Address from Canada. He begged to say, that he was not aware, and that it was physically im place as a Peer, and upon his honour, that he was not aware of its existence. He was not aware of the arrival of any mail-he was not aware of the expression of any opinion contrary to that which he read as the opinion of the Legislative Assembly, and which he sincerely believed to express fully and finally the sentiments of the people of that Colony. He would not comment at all upon what had taken place. He would only express his regret, that if it was thought necessary to put the question, it was not put by some noble Lord, and to his face, in that House. He regretted that it was put at a time when a week must elapse before he could take any notice of it in the way of debate or comment; and he regretted that it was not put in the House of which he was a Member, but that he should have been left to the defence of others instead of to his own vindication. He felt it due to their Lordships and to himself to make this explanation, and trusted their Lordships would not think he had occupied their time unnecessarily. LORD STANLEY said, that no one who knew his noble Friend would suppose that in whatever terms the question was put in another place, with regard to the Address, there could be on the part of any human being the slightest intention of casting the smallest shadow of imputation on his personal character and honour. He himself was not aware that there was any intention of putting the question. ceived the Address by post on the following morning, and saw with some sur He re and soul, into the principle of free trade. But, even if that were so, it would not diminish his apprehension: if Canada, in consequence of our policy, was disposed to throw herself into the principle of free trade, it was to palliate the evils likely to result from our legislation, by separating herself from her commercial connexion with this country, and availing herself of the closest connexion possible with other countries. He did not say that was a satisfactory answer, or that it removed the particular apprehensions which he felt. But in the course of that very evening-he would not say before his noble Friend ceased speaking-but before twelve hours had elapsed, and before the country were in possession of the recorded contradiction of his apprehensions on the part of his noble Friend, and his noble Friend opposite, there ar prise that the question had been put sult from giving the province of Canada in the course of the afternoon, not, how- an inducement to act independently of this ever, as he understood, for the purpose of country with respect to its commercial poascertaining whether his noble Friend was licy, and the danger of throwing that procognizant of the existence of the Address vice into too great an intimacy, commerat the time he made his statement, but for cially and politically, with the United the purpose of knowing whether, at the States. He would not say that his appretime the debate closed, Her Majesty's Go-hensions were treated with inattention; vernment knew that such an Address had but they certainly were treated as unbeen received? He was quite satisfied founded and chimerical. Their Lordships that not only in their Lordships' House were told that the Canadians had no such not only in the other House of Parliament-apprehensions, and no such fears—that the but throughout the country generally, the Canadians were throwing themselves, heart high honour and character of his noble Friend rendered it unnecessary for him for a single moment to enter upon the exculpation of himself from a charge which, if it had rested on the slightest foundation, would not only have involved a gross breach of public honour, but also of the grossest folly. With regard to the regret expressed by his noble Friend, that the question had not been put in their Lordships' House, he must have overlooked the circumstance that immediately on the close of the debate on Thursday evening their Lordships adjourned, and it was not till this moment they had met after the recess. It was very natural that the arrival of a despatch of such a nature should excite immediate attention, and that it should be brought under the notice of Her Majesty's Government at the earliest period in another place. As his noble Friend the Un-rived a unanimous Address from the House der Secretary for the Colonies had intimated his intention of laying the despatch on the Table of the House, perhaps he might be excused in making one or two observations on the subject of that Address, and the statement made by his noble Friend. He took the liberty, in the observations which he made to their Lordships on the second reading of the Corn Importation Bill, to state his serious apprehension that the measure would be, in a com-sembly of Lower Canada, one of the most mercial point of view, seriously injurious to the province of Canada-that it would excite serious discontent there, and cause great irritation. He also pointed out specific effects which he expected to result from the measure. These were the diminution of the agricultural prosperity of Canada, and the consequent inability of its inhabitants to take our manufactures in return the throwing away of a great portion of the capital which, by our assistance, Canada had been induced to lay out on the improvement of the navigation of the St. Lawrence; and he mentioned also the political dangers which were likely to re of Assembly in Canada, verifying his apprehensions with regard to that state of feeling to the very letter, following his specific objections to the course then taken; and had he acted in concert with them, they could not have more completely echoed his sentiments than they did in the Address which he held in his hand, to one or two passages of which he would call their Lordships' attention. The House of As divided bodies in existence, with the greatest variety of interests and of origin, composed of French Canadians, Anglo-Canadians, and United States men, much agitated by political dissensions amongst themselves, had nevertheless come to a unanimous vote in condemnation of the policy of the British Government. They expressed their apprehension in words which he trusted would not be lost on their Lordships, before they were again called upon to give their vote on this important subject. unanimous vote of the House of Assembly assured Her Majesty that while they have seen with feelings of satisfaction the hap The |